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Friday, 15 January 2010

Back from the brink? US considered 'limited military options' against Russia.

George W. Bush was the ‘cool head’ at the White House who ruled out military intervention in the conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia.

Sean’s Russia Blog cites Ronald D. Asmus in his book ‘A Little War That Shook the World’ which alleges that senior figures in the American administration urged ’limited’ military action against Russia.

The President showed enough sense to realise that ‘confrontation’ would be inevitable, if the US had directly attacked Russia.

Sean believes the fact that the United States even considered bombing the Gori Tunnel, through which Russian troops and supplies reach South Ossetia, bolsters the thesis that the White House gave Saakashvili a ‘green light’ to confront Moscow.

It certainly provides a prime example of the type of hysteria which characterised American and British responses to the war.

Had the President not provided calmer counsel, best case scenario, the US would have had to explain its intervention in a conflict which an independent EU inquiry later proved was instigated by Georgia.

Worst case scenario (and more likely), war with Russia would have resulted.